germantown 2020

seven objectiveS leading to one goal, be the body of christ God created us to be

The Church in Germantown knows that we can be more like Jesus, make better use of our blessings and talents the Lord has given us, and show love and grace to the world with even greater impact. That is what led us to start the Germantown 2020 initiative.

Leadership teams were developed, surveys and congregational input was taken, many conversations were had, and even more prayers were made leading us to where we are today. When the "amens" were said we were left with seven key objectives on which our Church Family had decided we needed to focus our attention and resources.

7 Key Objectives

ENHANCE WORSHIP

As God's children, we place the highest priority on honoring God by being true to His will. While we have have always worshiped in a biblically sound way, we recognize that we can do more to spiritually motivate, nourish, and encourage those who participate in our worship services on a weekly basis. It is the goal of this congregation to continue worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth all while intentionally moving forward placing the best we have to offer at the feet of Jesus.

IMPROVE SHEPHERDING

Our elders are friendly and approachable people, but like many churches, the perception is that they end up focusing more on administrative tasks which leaves them less time to attend to the spiritual needs of the Church. It is the Eldership's renewed focus to better minister to the needs of this Church Family. This is done by both empowering the deacons and various committees to fulfill their important roles, as well as fervently seeking to be the spiritual guides and caretakers they committed themselves to be before God and this Church Family.

CREATE OUTREACH CULTURE

This Church Family takes great joy in honoring God through our outreach efforts, including short-term and global missions. We have a great desire to be more evangelistic in our daily lives and increase our efforts and resources on local outreach and missions in the greater Memphis area. Moving forward it is our intention to be proactive in meeting the needs of the community around us .

DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS

Our congregation is a supportive and caring group of believers. We take care of and pray for one another, but one challenge is deepening the relationships we have. In our superficial culture we all must fight against the pull to only be surface level with others. As we press forward it is our desire to provide an environment and opportunities that will spur the development and growth of deeper personal relationships.

STREAMLINE MINISTRIES

Our congregation does well at providing opportunities for out members to use their God-given gifts in serving other people and honoring God. We see ourselves as a generous congregation and we want to use the blessings we have received to help others. The current volume and structuring of our ministry offering can make it difficult or confusing to jump into a ministry you're passionate about. As we move forward it is our intention to simplify the structure and process. We have recently combined or reorganized ministries and went from 94 to 42.

IMPROVE STEWARDSHIP

We have been greatly blessed at Germantown with outstanding facilities and talented and creative people managing and improving our facilities on a regular basis. There are several places of potential improvement as well as development. It is our intention to look at areas including: more convenient entrances for those with mobility challenges and improved indoor and outdoor fellowship spaces. Recently having paid off our mortgage, God has blessed us with financial flexibility to help those areas.

HEIGHTEN COMMUNICATION

Just like in any family, communication is important. With the many different ministries, leaders, and activities going on at the Germantown Church of Christ we know improving communication would be most helpful. Our goal is to enhance communication through botha broadened use of technology and a commitment to fostering a more open and sharing atmosphere.